And to welcome the new coach to Happy Valley, Penn., a group of former players and influential alumni are doing everything they can to make sure O’Brien fails as the coach:

Former Penn State All-American linebacker Brandon Short told ESPN.com senior writer Don Van Natta Jr. that members of the influential Lettermen’s Club have a meeting scheduled with Joyner for Friday at 1 p.m. ET.

“It’s unfortunate that coach O’Brien … has not been made aware of the implications of him being in this position,” said Short, an investment banker. “I don’t envy him at all. He doesn’t have support of the vast majority of former Penn State players and the vast majority of the student body and the faculty won’t support him. I feel sorry for him.”

Short said some members of the group were considering a range of options to express their displeasure, including asking current players to transfer and recruits to de-commit. Short told USA Today they were mulling a lawsuit in an effort to bar Penn State from using their likenesses or images for marketing purposes.

“It appears as if it is Dave Joyner’s intent to disassociate himself with everything related Penn State,” Short told ESPN.com. “Then a group of former players will now disassociate ourselves from everything related to Penn State.”